Improving the growth of animals such as chickens and turkeys is an important goal for producers that raise chickens and turkeys. Currently, in the United States, more than 80% of feed for non-ruminant animals such as chickens and turkeys is pelleted, and swine and poultry fed pelleted feed have improved growth performance (Fairfield, 2003a and 2003b).
Plasma can be added to a swine diet in order to increase feed intake and growth. However, increasing the conditioning temperature during the feed pelleting process decreases the growth-enhancing properties of the plasma for swine (Steidinger et al., 2000). There is currently a need for growth-enhancing feeds for poultry such as chickens and turkeys, such as pelleted feeds.